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Bugs Badgering Ballplayers Just Part of the Game

Sports

August 23rd, 2011 by Jim Field

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – The moth that forced Matt Holliday from the outfield is done causing mischief. What remained of the offending bug was tucked inside a sandwich bag,  perfect for TV cameras and for the St. Louis Cardinals’ star to show it off around the clubhouse.  Holliday was joking around Tuesday, one day after the insect flew deep inside his right ear during in the eighth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, of course, it’s a laughing matter, just the latest critter at the ballpark.  After all, midges, mosquitoes and grasshoppers have pestered players in the past.  But this latest call of the wild was something even manager Tony La Russa couldn’t remember seeing before.  It took 10 minutes to get the moth out of Holliday’s ear in the clubhouse. First, the trainers tried turning off all the lights hoping it would come out on its own. Then came the tweezers.